H1N1 virus and travel

Question: My 8-month-old grand daughter is on Cephalexin for a skin infection. She is flying to California with her mother for Thanksgiving, will the antibiotic help protect her from the flu virus? She has not be vaccinated because she allergic to eggs.

Answer: Cephalexin, an antibiotic against bacteria, will not prevent influenza which is caused by a type of virus.

Good hand washing by the child’s mother and avoidance of close exposure of the child to fellow travelers would reduce the risk of contracting influenza.

Another encouraging factor is the general trend across the country over the past week of decreasing reported influenza activity in many communities.